


Just Like Me

by Darcylovette



Category: Antisepticeye - Fandom, CrankGameplays - Fandom, Darkiplier - Fandom, jacksepticeye, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: Antisepticeye Sean McLoughlin, Blood and Gore, Darkiplier - Freeform, Darkiplier Mark Fischbach, Evil Ethan, Horror, Mystery, Suspense, antisepticeye
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-11
Updated: 2017-10-19
Packaged: 2019-01-16 05:12:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12336147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darcylovette/pseuds/Darcylovette
Summary: Three dead.Ethan Nestor was free to go. Not guilty.But they'll never find the real killer.And now Ethan knows why...He's not alone.There are others.One is strong; he's in control, he can help.The other is helpless; he's gone, he couldn't be saved.Which one will Ethan become?





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by Darcy Lovette
> 
> Edited by: The Editor

Chapter One

_The evidence wasn’t enough._

Ethan wiggled his hands inside his sleeves, elbows pressed painfully against his waist. The bench’s metal bars were like ice; splattered with rain which soaked through his jeans and irritated the skin of his legs. Every inch of him ached uncomfortably with cold, and unrelenting nerves.

_He matched the profile, but not perfectly. Not enough._

_Even the witnesses didn’t recognise him._

He took long deep breaths, like he used to do before exams. Soon the cold bench began to sting his legs; he thought about standing up to wait, but he doubted his legs could support him for very long. He was tired. He hadn’t eaten. He’d certainly not slept.

_His home was too far away, and even his alibi checked out._

_There was no way he could have been close enough when it happened._

Ethan watched a bird grab a fry from the ground with its beak, swinging it above its head, tearing it in half again and again until the pieces were small enough to eat. He wondered if he’d ever feel hungry again after this. He glanced at his watch – was it broken? Why did the hands move so slowly?

_They let him go, but not before his picture was printed in every newspaper._

His parents should have been here by now. The more he thought about it, the more at peace he felt with the idea of living at home again – at least for a while. Away from the cities. Away from the cameras. Away from the friends he knew he’d lost that day.

_Free to go._

He checked his watch.

_Then why was there so much blood when he woke up?_

A group of cars rolled past behind him, scattering puddles over the pavement and thundering like clouds. As the sound died away he heard footsteps; muffled claps against the rain-soaked tarmac. He looked up. It wasn’t his parents. He looked back down.

The footsteps grew closer. Ethan waited for them to pass.

They stopped beside him. Ethan stared at his knees.

A man sat down on the other side of the bench, grunting softly. Ethan ignored him.

He wished his phone hadn’t died.

The man, through the corner of Ethan’s eye, wasn’t moving. He didn’t look at his own phone, or read a newspaper, or do anything at all. He was just sitting there, staring at nothing, tapping a finger gently against his leg.

After a while, the man spoke to him.

“I’m glad to see you’re out.” He said, his voice deep and gravelly, as if he were sick, or exhausted from a long, unexpected journey.

Ethan didn’t respond.

“Not everyone’s gonna believe you’re innocent, not until they find the real killer.” The man continued, crossing one leg on top of the other.

Ethan nodded a little.

“Yeah,” the man sighed, rubbing a hand against his jaw, “but that’s the thing, Ethan…” he turned his body until it was practically towering over Ethan’s hunched, shivering frame, “… they’re never going to find the killer. Are they?”

Ethan slid away from the stranger, jumping to his feet. He stared down at the man on the bench – his short black hair slick with rainwater; his unshaven face; his dark, tired eyes. He was grinning, as though remembering something pleasant from long ago. Ethan took a step back.

“What does _that_ mean?” He asked, shakily, “Who are you? D-did… did you...?”

“Of course not.” The man laughed, glancing away for a second, “No, Ethan, _I_ didn’t kill them.”

“We have that in common, I guess.” Shrugged Ethan, a little less confidently than he’d intended.

“Oh, there’s lots we have in common.” The man nodded, “Lots and lots. I know _you_ didn’t kill them, either.”

“Yeah.”

“Halfway across the country at the time. It’s incredible they even bothered arresting you at all – but the murders… they were so horrific the police **had** to be seen doing something, right? With so many witnesses they needed at least one suspect to keep their credibility.”

“I suppose.” Ethan wasn’t sure he liked this man.

“But…” the man sighed a little, “this is the thing. They aren’t going to find the real killer. They’re just not. I know that and… pretty soon you’re gonna know that too.”

Ethan was definitely sure he didn’t like this man.

“Am I being too cryptic?” he laughed, “Sorry.” He reached forward, causing Ethan’s body to tense up and inch away. The man stopped, hesitated, and stretched out a hand towards him. “I’m Mark.”

“… E-Ethan…” he mumbled, shaking the hand. “Look, m-my parents are gonna be here any second, so I need to-”

“Wait.” The man stood suddenly, “Just wait a minute, please?”

Ethan’s fear came flooding back.

“I know I’m doing a terrible job trying not to sound like a murderer, but… you can’t.” He gestured his hands in a helpless way, “You can’t go back with your parents, okay? I’m sorry, I’m really sorry but you need to understand something and… I can’t explain it here.”

“I-I… I have to g-go…”

“No, Ethan,” the man was starting to sound a little desperate, “I shouldn’t have wasted so much time being weird about this, but I need you to come with me. There’s something I must tell you and I. Can’t. Say. It. Here. Okay?”

“G-get away from me!” Ethan jumped back, “Leave me alone, or I’ll… I’ll t-tell…”

“If you do not come with me this second your parents will die.”

Ethan felt his blood turn to ice in his veins. “Y-you’re sick… i-if you even think about hurting my-”

“I’m not the one who’ll hurt them. I’m trying to save them!”

“From who?!”

Without warning Mark’s hands were grasping Ethan’s shoulders, yanking him forward so fast their faces almost smashed together. “ _From **you,** you dickhead._ ” He hissed, “ _Well… not you. But…_ ” he groaned in frustration, his eyes shutting tightly, “ _there’s something about you which you don’t know. Something bad. Something nobody could know. But **I** know. I know because I have it too.” _ His hands began to shake, _“I’m the same. And I know you didn’t kill those people but **something did** – and if you don’t come with me right now they’re going to do it again. **Do you understand me?** ”_

_The blood._

All Ethan could think about was the blood.

“ _I promise you, I will not hurt you. But you **have** to trust me. I’m sorry but you just do._ ”

 A sound reached Ethan’s ear over the falling rain and Mark’s heavy, panicked breathing. A voice. His mother’s voice. She must have been on the other side of the police station, but she was getting closer. She said his father’s name. He couldn’t make out his response, but he sounded worried.

He stared into the dark, bloodshot eyes of the man holding his shoulders. All he could see was fear, desperation… regret?

He had seconds to decide.

He has seconds to react.

_Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck._

_The blood. The blood. The blood._

“Fine.”

Before the word had fully left his lips, the man spun around and, dragging Ethan behind him, ran towards the car park. Ethan slipped and tripped trying to keep up with him – if he fell he expected Mark would drag him across the wet, dirty floor to… wherever they were going.

The stranger reached into his pocket and pulled something out, something Ethan couldn’t see. Seconds later a car was flashing its lights, the locks whirring open. Mark grabbed the handle to the passenger seat, swinging the door open and all but throwing Ethan inside, who hit his elbow painfully on the shift-stick. Before he had time to put on his seatbelt, Mark had jumped in next to him, fiddled with his keys for a second, and they were off.

Ethan swore space shuttles took off slower than this.

For someone leaving a police station parking lot with a recently released murder suspect by his side, Mark rounded that corner far, far too quickly. And the next one. And the next until they slid onto the road and shot away like a bullet, leaving the station and Ethan’s parents far, far behind them.

***

Fifteen minutes of traveling at god-knows-what-speed, Mark slowed the car to a regular, less illegal pace. This was much to Ethan’s relief, who did not want to return to the station less than an hour after getting out. He wasn’t a detective, but he’d seen enough cop shows to realize how suspicious this looked.

Mark seemed a lot calmer than before; no longer shaking, the redness in his face had faded and the vein in his neck wasn’t about to burst. They sat in silence for a while, despite the thousands of questions Ethan was aching to ask, yet afraid to know.

“Alright.” Mark let out a long exhale of breath, “Sorry, about that. Um…” he chewed his bottom lip, “I didn’t know you were expecting someone. I-I thought I’d have more time to explain… honestly, I’m kinda judging you for trusting me.”

Ethan eyes were fixed on the door handle.

“Shit, I’m making it worse.” Mark smiled, “Sorry. So… so, so, so… hmm… I’m not sure where to begin.”

“Mhm.”

“What do you remember? About the night of the… murders?”

Ethan was sick of this question, “I was at home. I ordered pizza. I watched a few episodes of Friends, I played some video games, I fell asleep on the sofa.”

“Where did you wake up?”

“In my home.”

“Where?”

Ethan swallowed. “… In my bed.”

Mark nodded, “I’m sure you didn’t tell the police that last part. Good. Did you notice anything unusual when you woke up? A headache? Unexplained bruising? Sore throat?”

“Blood.”

“Oh.” Mark paused, “Oh, wow. Well, I mean… that makes sense… where was it?”

Ethan looked out the window, “It was… just everywhere. My clothes. My skin. My bedsheets. I-I was scared, and… I had this feeling that… I don’t know.”

“… Guilt?”

“Kind of. I didn’t know why but all I could feel was that I’d done something really, really terrible. I didn’t know what. I didn’t think to go to hospital – I could only think to wash the sheets, my clothes, my… self. I was in the shower when I suddenly realized… I didn’t know why I felt like that. What had I done? Why couldn’t I shake the feeling I had done _something_? Was it in a dream? I-I looked and looked and… I had no injuries. No cuts. Nothing. I-if it w-wasn’t my blood… who could it have…”

Mark was silent.

“I saw the story on the news. The murders. I didn’t feel shocked or upset by it. It felt like I’d seen that story before, like it was old news. Every detail. Until…” he sighed, sinking into the chair, “the reporter said it had happened barely four hours ago. I couldn’t have heard about it before.”

“But you felt like you had?”

“Yeah. Like… déjà vu.”

“Nobody’s ever been killed like that before.”

“No…” Ethan started picking at a hole in his jeans, “it wasn’t long before they’d released a statement. They’d spoken to the witnesses - they’d gotten an image. The next day the police were at my house.”

“You were nowhere near that restaurant.”

“Yep. Eight-hour drive. Pizza man saw me in my home four hours before it happened.”

“The witnesses?”

“Didn’t recognise me. Said I looked similar, but… apparently nothing like the killer.”

“DNA?”

“None.”

“No DNA? Anywhere?”

“No.”

“Shit…” Mark shook his head, “part of me wanted to be wrong. But the no DNA? They were killed in full view of witnesses, who saw the killer leave the scene straight away. There’s only one explanation for that.”

“… Which is?”

Mark stared at the road, “You ever heard of the Lux Tenebris theory?”

“No.”

“Neither had I. It’s this old philosophical, sci-fi, bullshit sounding theory. Essentially, some believe that humans aren’t just made up of goodness and bad. They say that all humans are a combination of two different people – a good person, the voice in your head telling you to do what’s right – and the bad person, the… well, the little devil on your shoulder.”

Ethan scoffed, “Where did you find this theory? A vegan blog?”

Mark ignored him, “The good and the bad person, despite being complete opposites, are supposed to function so perfectly together that they can exist as one being. But because they’re opposites, one is always louder than the other. One is always stronger. If they were equally as strong then… the human couldn’t function. They’d fall apart. Nobody can be completely neutral, it’s not natural. _That being said…_ well, it can happen.”

 “How often?”

“Basically never. But when it does… the human falls apart. The good side will die. The bad side will rebel. When this happens the human can be left… well… virtually the same. They can still function, think, differentiate between good and bad. It’s like the good and bad left this… imprint on them. As if nothing had happened.”

“… But…?”

Mark grinned, “Well, this is where it gets weird.”

“Weirder?”

“Weirdest. The good person is gone. But the bad person rebels, remember?”

“Y-yeah?”

“… You ever read Jekyll and Hyde before?”

“Oh my god.”

“I know.”

Ethan was laughing, “S-so you’re telling me?”

“I am.”

“I didn’t kill those people?”

“You didn’t.”

“The evil me did?”

“That’s correct.”

“Really?”

“Kinda.”

“And he has the power to leave no DNA?”

“Apparently.”

“And travel at insane, impossible speeds?”

“Well, the whole concept is so unstable and unnatural that… yeah, the ‘bad person’ wouldn’t really have to obey our laws of physics to exist.”

Ethan’s voice continued to become higher and higher, “And rip off people’s heads?”

“Well, yours can.”

“Cool. Great. Awesome. Fantastic. Brilliant. Unbelie-”

“You don’t believe me.”

“NO!” Ethan shouted, “I DON’T BELIEVE YOU! WHY THE HELL WOULD I BELIEVE YOU? YOU’RE A CRAZED FUCKING CONSPIRACY WACKO, AND YOU’VE BASICALLY KIDNAPPED ME, AND YOU’RE TRYING TO CONVINCE ME THAT AN EVIL VERSION OF MYSELF MURDERED THREE PEOPLE, RAN BACK TO MY HOUSE, AND LEFT NO EVIDENCE!!”

Mark wound his window up, “Okay, you believe that.”

“… FINE!!”

“You gonna call the police?”

“YOU GONNA STOP ME?”

“No.”

“… Um… well… GOOD!” Ethan shoved a hand into his pocket, trying to ignore how badly they were trembling, and pulled out his phone. “… Shit.”

“What?”

“… My phone’s dead…”

“Want a charger? You can plug it into the radio. I’ll even lend you my aux cord, just don’t play any trash.”

Ethan, forgetting how to speak, stared at him. He’d never seen someone look so calm.

“… I… I… wh… what is wrong with you?”

“The same thing that’s wrong with you.”

“… Prove it.”

Mark laughed, “What?”

“Prove it! B-become evil! Bring Mr Hyde out to play, I wanna meet the fucker.”

“You really don’t. He’s not a nice guy.”

“HELLO!” Ethan shouted again, “MR BAD GUY? COME ON OUT! LET’S HANG! LET’S GO SEE A MOVIE! LET’S MAKE FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS AND BRAID EACH OTHER’S HAIR!!”

“Please stop poking me in the head.”

“OH, WILL IT MAKE YOU ANGRY? IS IT LIKE THE HULK? ARE YOU GONNA TURN GREEN AND BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF ME?”

“I’ve lived with him long enough to keep him in check when I’m awake. And no, he won’t beat the shit out of you.” He nodded, “Kill you? Probably. Torture you? Most definitely. Beat you up? Not his style.”

“IS HE LIKE THE IMAGINARY FRIEND YOU HAD AS A KID? OH NO, _I_ DIDN’T BREAK THE VASE. MR EVIL DID IT! NO, _I_ DIDN’T STEAL FROM YOUR PURSE. MR EVIL DID! NO, _I_ DIDN’T MURDER THREE PEOPLE BY RIPPING THEIR HEADS OFF, MR _FUCKING_ EVIL DID IT!!”

“His first name is fucking?”

“SURE! WHY NOT?!”

“… Look.” Mark wet his lips, “I can prove it to you. I can prove that I’m not bullshitting you. Here’s what’s gonna happen.” He tapped his fingers on the wheel, “I’m gonna take you somewhere. It’s very much off the beaten track, almost impossible to find. That’s scary, I know. But there’s something there which will convince you. If not… you can go. I’ll drive you home, or pay for your train, whichever you prefer.”

Ethan lowered his brow.

“And, as a little extra insurance…” he reached into his pocket and dropped something metal onto Ethan’s lap.

A small, but very real, handgun.

“Use it anytime. It’s loaded, you can check if you want.”

Ethan had gone white.

“… A… a g-gun?”

“Yep. Always carry one these days.”

“F-for what?”

“Moments like this. Honestly? I still don’t trust myself. I don’t trust myself to stay in control no matter what. I always make sure to have a gun. Because one day, I might be around people, and _he_ will try to make an appearance. I might not be able to stop him. If I can aim that gun _just right_ before he does… nobody will get hurt.”

He turned to Ethan and gave him a little smile, “If I give it to you, however? You’ll be able to stop him. You’ll be able to stop _us_. It makes sense.”

“B-but… but… but…” Ethan stammered, “If I… a-and I’m not saying I believe you! B-but what if I t… turn…”

“It’s… not a perfect plan. But we’re in a car, soon enough we’ll be the only one on the road where we’re going. The only person you could hurt is me.”

***

The rest of the ride was spent in total silence.

Hours past. The sun had set. The road ended and soon they were driving across fields and dirt paths. It was hard to see anything except the silhouettes of trees, and the reflection of the moon across the occasional lake.

Ethan cradled the gun in his lap, afraid to hold it properly, lest he shoot himself in the leg by mistake.

The car came to a slow stop by an old, abandoned… laboratory? Only one story high, the building was decayed and overrun by weeds. The only parts which looked new were the black windows and metal door.

Mark handed Ethan a flashlight, and they made their way to the building. Mark punched in a code and the door opened, slowly and noisily. Mark went first, Ethan a few steps behind, the gun now securely in his hand.

The door closed and locked behind them.

Ethan heard a few clicks, and yellow lights flickered on above their heads. The inside wasn’t as unpleasant as the exterior, but clearly this place hadn’t been used in years. The floor was filthy, cobwebs covered every corner of the walls, something black was growing on the ceiling.

Mark guided Ethan through the narrow hallways, humming a little at first, before he fell silent and began to walk very, very slowly.

After a while, Mark stopped walking.

There was a door and a window to his right. The window was huge, like the kind in the interrogation room, covered by dirty blinds. Mark’s hand reached towards the cord, then hesitated.

“Could you… put the gun on the ground for a second?”

Ethan clutched it tighter, “What?”

“I’m about to show you something and… I don’t want to you panic and open fire, alright?”

Despite himself, Ethan agreed. He placed the gun on the floor, by his feet.

“Thank you…” Mark’s fingers continued to hover by the cord, “I’ve been the way I am for… a very long time. Too long. I came here so I could hide myself away, so nobody else could get hurt. I learned to control him. It wasn’t… easy. When I found out about you, I knew I had to help you. I had to take you here, so I could teach you to control… yours, too. Because when you live with the… _creature_ for too long… it changes you. I could handle mine, but not everyone can. If left for too long, you can become corrupted.  Driven mad. Unable to tell where you end and _it_ begins.”

Ethan heard a faint, but unmistakable growl coming from behind the curtain.

“I was too late before. But you? You’re lucky. It seems like I got to you in time. There’s hope.” Mark’s eyes began to close, “If I hadn’t, if you’d been alone and let the creature roam loose inside you for even one month…” his fingers tightened around the cord, “… well, I’ll show you.”

Mark pulled down the cord.

The blinds whipped back.

Ethan looked through the window.

_A dark room._

_A small room._

Faint green lights illuminated a figure, knelt on the ground, head bent forward.

The figure looked like a man with green hair. He was scrawny looking, like he hadn’t eaten in a very long time. Ethan could just make out his shoulders rising and falling with every deep, raspy breath. Chains; around his wrists, connecting to the wall behind him.

Ethan stepped towards the window.

The man jolted.

He looked up.

A pair of radioactive green eyes bore into Ethan’s, who froze, unable to move, unable to look away.

The man- no… the _creature’s_ head tilted up, up, and up. Until Ethan could see everything.

The jagged fangs where his teeth should have been.

The scabbed, infected wound stretching across his entire neck.

Those unnatural, cold, inhuman eyes.

The creature began to smile.

The creature began to giggle.

The creature charged – but the chains held firm. It was pulled back, crashing onto the floor with a snarl of anger, its body jerking and writhing as it giggled once more… it kept giggling… so loud… so _piercing_.

Ethan couldn’t look a second more.

“Close the blinds.” He shouted, his eyes still frozen on the creature, which was now screaming its horrible laugh.

Mark obliged.

The bloodcurdling laughter still echoed down the hall, and through Ethan’s mind.

“… Okay…” he whispered, “… okay…”

“Okay?”

“I… believe you.”  

 

_To be continued..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment or a kudos if you want to hear more! I love to hear theories :D 
> 
> To follow this story and many more, you can follow me on Tumblr and get them sweet updates. Darcylovette.tumblr.com
> 
> Tell your friends! It's got what plants crave!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Stay… still… s-stay… quiet…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by Darcy Lovette
> 
> Edited by: The Editor

Chapter Two

As dirty and run down as it was – Mark had turned the laboratory into something resembling a home.

The home of a crackhead, maybe.

The kitchen; complete with a working fridge, battered microwave, stove-top kettle, and even a one-ring gas hob; was the cleanest room in the whole place. There were loaves of bread, packets of noodles, bottles of water, and dozens of canned goods stocked throughout. Mark gave Ethan a little tour of its many wonders, and repeatedly told him to help himself whenever he needed.

Ethan asked where the food came from; Mark said it was from a shop three miles south.

Ethan wondered where he got the money from; he didn’t ask.

Their next destination was what looked like a lounge; with dusty sofas, wooden boxes serving as tables, gas lamps, and a splintered bookshelf overflowing with paperbacks. Mark kicked a nearby electric heater, and it jumped to life with a _clang_.

“You want something to eat?” Mark asked as Ethan took a seat on a sofa, “You haven’t eaten in hours.”

“I’m fine.” Ethan shook his head, “I’m not hungry.”

“… Alright. I’ll get you a bottle of water though, be right back.” He didn’t move for a few seconds. Then he sighed, looked up, and left the room.

Ethan was exhausted. As soon as Mark was out of sight he sunk down into the sofa as if it were made of liquid, falling onto his side and throwing his arms over his face. The last few days felt like an eternity – his old life felt like it belonged to someone else entirely, his memories nothing but dreams and stories.

He curled up into a ball, his mind too weak to stop the thoughts coming and going as they pleased; each more unpleasant than the last. He thought about his parents, sick with worry, with no idea where he was and no possible way of finding him. He thought about the police, finding out about his disappearance, and vowing to hunt him down again. He thought about the victims. He thought about the victim’s families. He thought about the man with the green, green eyes. He thought about the man who pulled him into his car to take him far away, never to be seen again. He thought about the man with the green eyes again. He thought about his smile. He thought about his laughter. He thought about the still wet, gaping wound along his neck.

How the hell was he still alive?

If these… creatures can survive a slit throat, what else can they survive?

Ethan could still see those eyes shining in the darkness as he succumbed to his exhaustion, and fell asleep.

***

One of the lamps was still burning when he woke up, curled onto the sofa, now covered in an old, dusty blanket. He opened his eyes and blinked the lounge into view – the lamp did a poor job of lighting the room; it took a while for his vision to adjust. He noticed a bottle of water on the ground, a foot from the sofa. He was desperately thirsty but his arms ached too much to move; he stared hungrily at the bottle instead, as if attempting to will it towards him with his mind.

It took a while but eventually Ethan wondered why he was sleeping in such a strange place.

Then the memories came flooding back. Suddenly, Ethan didn’t feel so tired.

The sofa creaked as he pushed himself up – the world spun for a second. He took several large gulps of water, letting some dripple down his chin. Looking down at his watch Ethan saw it was 3am. Wherever Mark was, he’s surely be asleep by now. Giving up on the idea of sleeping as well, Ethan decided to explore the laboratory a little more.

He must have passed dozens of unused, decrepit rooms before ending up back in the kitchen, happily surprised to find himself a bit peckish. Bread and noodles seemed too heavy right now, but the unopened packet of biscuits caught his eye. He fished one out, sealed up the bag as best he could, and took a small bite. It was dry, flavourless, yet perfect.

An unusual sound echoed just outside the door, causing Ethan to jump and drop the biscuit onto the floor. He cursed and tossed it in the bin; whatever was on that floor definitely wasn’t fit for consumption. As he went to reach for another, the sound was there again. A little louder.

Feeling anxious, Ethan decided it best to return to the lounge. Maybe there was a lock on the door.

He walked as fast as he dared through the corridor, checking behind himself every few steps. Endless doors passed him by – where was the lounge again? It was left from the kitchen, right? Oh, was it right? Wait… he hadn’t seen this room before. It was near that plastic houseplant, yeah? Huh, not that one apparently.

_Oh no._

He was lost.

Smacking himself on the forehead, Ethan groaned and kicked at a wall. The laboratory seemed so small from the outside, how was it possible to get so lost? He broke out into a light jog, hoping to cover as much ground as possible – the lounge hadn’t vanished, had it? That would be _impossible_.

Another corridor. Then another. Another. They started to look the same. Was he going in circles?

He rounded a corner. He rounded the next. He muttered something rude. He rounded the next.

Huh.

This one felt familiar.

He spotted a door and wondered towards it, hoping he could navigate his way once he found somewhere… somewhere…

Dusty blinds, swinging gently as if caught in a non-existent breeze. Behind the blinds… someone was breathing very, very softly.

Ethan remembered the man with the green eyes, the slashed throat, the smile of a shark, and the cold laughter of a demon. He felt his body become very cold, and very still. He was, in every way, frozen.

“ _… Huh… Mm…_ ” a whisper from behind the blinds. “ _H… huh… nng…_ ”

Ethan took a step towards the window, his legs moving on their own accord.

“ _Hell… h-hell…_ ” whoever was speaking sounded… so tired. A dry, croaky voice, struggling to form a single word.

Ethan lifted a trembling hand and, carefully, pushed one of the blinds to the side.

The man with green hair was gone.

In his place was a man who looked just like him; except his hair was brown, his eyes didn’t glow, and his teeth weren’t fangs. The wound on his neck looked bigger, blood dripping down his chest and staining the torn, grey shirt he was wearing.

The man looked at Ethan.

Ethan stared at the man.

“ _H-hh…_ ” the man’s voice became gurgled and wet, as if the blood was filling his throat and lungs, “ _h-help… m-me…_ ”

Ethan didn’t think.

He jumped towards the door, yanking down the handle with all his might but finding it wouldn’t budge. He swore; he looked around; he looked down. A key was sticking out the lock. Breathing a sigh, he twisted the key and shoved the door open, throwing himself inside. He skidded to his knees and took the man by the shoulders, “Are you okay?” he asked, stupidly, “Can you breathe? W-what do I do?”

The door clicked shut behind him.

“ _N-need…_ ” the man wheezed, “ _n-need…_ ”

“Yes? What do you need?” Ethan asked, his heart thumping against his chest, his limbs shaking uncontrollably.

“ _Need… n-need… n… ha… haha…_ ”

Ethan felt his stomach turn to water.

“ _N-need… **blood** …_”

Before he could react something hard and cold collided with the side of his head – for a second he saw nothing but stars.

When Ethan came to he saw a face with green hair and greener eyes, dripping fangs twisted into an evil grin, pressed closely against his own. He was on his back, the man on top of him with arms and legs pinning down Ethan’s limbs. A wide, cruel smile stretched across his entire face.

The creature was giggling.

The creature was growling.

The creature was _hungry_.

Ethan began to scream, but the creature smacked a chained wrist against Ethan’s head; not enough to knock him out again, but enough to shut him up. He hissed as he felt pain where his flesh had split open. Something hot dripped down his cheek and stung as it ran into his eyes.

He couldn’t see the creature, but he felt it.

He felt its weak, raspy breathing against his skin.

He felt its cold, clammy hands wrapped around his arms, holding him down with unhuman strength.

He felt a dry tongue running along the wound on his head, causing him to cry out in pain only for the creature to shove a hand over his mouth, hissing angrily into his ear.

“ _Stay… still… s-stay… quiet…_ ”

Something brushed against his neck. Something that felt like rows of knives, pressing against his neck, longing to sink deeply into his flesh.

Ethan wanted to scream.

Ethan couldn’t make a sound.

Ethan could only lay there, under the weight of this ungodly monster. And wait.

_The creature paused._

_It pulled its head away._

Ethan tried to open his eyes, but the creatures tongue against his wounds forced them closed again. Was it torturing him? It felt like it was _tasting_ him.

Something resembling a hum of surprise gurgled from the back of the creature’s throat, and without warning… the creature drew away; leaving Ethan - bleeding but very much alive - free to move once more.

Wasting no time, Ethan jerked upright and kicked himself as far away from the creature as he could, until his back hit the wall. The monster was watching, grinning wickedly, but making no attempt to follow him.

Ethan tried to open the door.

It had locked itself again; the key on the other side.

He felt the creature’s gaze penetrating the skin of his back.

“ _I-I… w- **won’t** hurt you…_ ” said the creature, no longer needing to whisper. Its voice was quiet and broken, and unsettlingly high pitched, “ _don’t be scared…_ ”

“Stay back!” Snapped Ethan, his fingers reaching for the handle again, “Just… just stay back!”

“ _D-don’t be afraid… I could never hurt **you** … y-you… you’re **just like me.**_ ”

Ethan’s arms fell limply to his side.

“ ** _… aren’t you?_** ”

_To be continued..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment or a kudos if you want to hear more! I love to hear theories :D 
> 
> To follow this story and many more, you can follow me on Tumblr and get them sweet updates. Darcylovette.tumblr.com
> 
> Tell your friends! It's got what plants crave!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Shall we play a game?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by Darcy Lovette
> 
> Edited by: The Editor

Chapter Three

Ethan and the creature stared at each other from opposite sides of the room.

Neither moved. Neither spoke.

The creature would begin to twitch every now and then, which seemed to make it giggle. Then it would be quite still once more.

Ethan wondered when Mark would wake up.

He wondered what Mark would say when he saw him.

He wondered so many things, yet kept his mouth shut.

It was the creature who spoke, “ _Shall we play a game?_ ”

Ethan narrowed his eyes.

“ _Let’s play… **‘Truth or Dare?’**!_ ”

Ethan opened his mouth to refuse – but…

“Alright. I’ll go first. Truth.”

The creature laughed in delight, wiggling its shoulders, “ _What’s your name?_ ”

“Ethan. Your turn.”

The creature thought, “ _… Truth._ ”

“Same question.”

“ ** _He_** _calls me Anti._ ”

“Is that your real name?”

“ _Nuh uh uh!_ ” The creature shook its head, “ _Not my turn!_ ”

Ethan sighed, “Fine… truth.”

“ _Hm…_ ” its head tilted, “ _what’s your last name?_ ”

“Nestor. Your turn.”

“ _Okay!_ ” the creature was practically jumping, “ _Truth! Truth!!_ ”

“… Who is **he**?”

“ _The bad man._ ”

“Who’s the-” Ethan pressed his lips together, “… truth.”

“ _Do you like games?_ ”

“Yes. Your turn.”

“ _Hmmm… hmmmmmm… truth!_ ”

“Who’s the bad man?”

The creature frowned, “ _… Dare._ ”

“What?” Ethan sat up, “No, you can’t change after I ask you a question!”

“ _Dare._ ”

“Tell me!”

“ _Dare!!_ ”

“WHO IS THE-”

“ **Ethan?** ”

Someone was banging on the door, “Ethan? Are you in there?!”

“Mark?” Ethan leapt to his feet, keeping his back to the wall, “Mark!!”

The door swung open and in ran a very worried, very angry looking Mark. “Ethan!” he shouted, storming towards him, “What the hell are you doing in here?”

“I… I… h-he said he needed help!” Ethan stammered, gesturing towards the creature on the floor, who was shifting itself away from them, “He didn’t look like… h-he tricked me!”

Mark rounded on Anti, “You!” the creature hissed in reply, “You evil little shit, what did you do?”

“ _N-nothing…_ ” Anti smiled in a way probably intended to seem innocent, “ _… w-was only playing a game!_ ”

“You and your games…” Mark shook his head, “your games get people killed.”

“ _Not always! That’s why it’s a game!_ ”

Mark rubbed his fingers against his nose, sighing, “… I’ll deal with you later. Ethan, let’s get out of here.”

Ethan didn’t have to be asked twice.

 

Once they were back in the lounge, Mark seemed to have regained his composure.

“I didn’t think I’d need to say this, but… don’t go into his room, alright?”

“… I’m sorry.” Ethan hung his head.

“He’s a trickster. He’ll say or do anything to get you in there, alright?”

“… Alright.”

“God, look at you.” Mark pressed a finger against the cuts on Ethan’s head, causing him to wince, “Jesus… are you alright?”

“Fine. I’m fine.” Ethan lied, batting his hand away, “He just hit me, that’s all.”

“He’s stronger than he looks. Come on,” he gestured to the door, “let’s get you cleaned up.”

 

Mark was emptying a bottle of water over Ethan’s cuts; it stung horribly at first, but soon the coolness of the water felt soothing and welcome, and Ethan felt some of the pain begin to fade.

“… I found him a year ago.” Mark spoke softly, now dabbing the side of Ethan’s head with a cloth, “Ireland, hiding out in some woods.”

Ethan faintly recalled hearing an accent in the creature’s voice.

“His human side was almost completely gone by the time I found him. If I’d have been just a few months earlier…” his hand paused, “… maybe I could have done more to help him. In the six weeks it took to find him he’d killed eight people… drained them, too.”

“I-it drinks blood?”

“He, not it.” Mark corrected, “And… yes, he does. Not for sustenance or anything, the creature can survive without food, water, sometimes even oxygen. He does it for fun – got himself addicted to the stuff, I think. From what I understand they all kill in unique ways; he likes to drain them of blood from the neck, kinda like a vampire I guess, and yours… well…”

Ethan pressed his lips together. Mark had abandoned the cloth and was now applying two large band aids to the sides of Ethan’s head, “W-what…” Ethan looked away, “what does… how does yours…?”

Mark’s face dropped, “… I don’t know. I’ve only killed one person.”

“One?”

“Yeah. I don’t know how. Nobody ever found the body.”

Ethan tried not to shake, “How did you know you were… _like us?_ ”

“Same way you did. Met a guy. He told me. I didn’t believe him. He convinced me.” Mark finished applying the second band aid and leant back against the kitchen counter, smiling a little, “For the next few years he taught me how to control it. I owe him my life.”

“Wh-where is he now?”

“He’s dead.”

“ _Oh._ ”

“Yeah. Bullet to the head.”

“Christ.”

Mark sighed deeply, “Had to be done. There were children… you know, he’s the one who gave me that gun.”

It all made sense.

“I’m sorry.” Said Ethan.

“Don’t be,” laughed Mark, “you didn’t shoot him. I didn’t realize it had happened until I saw it on the news – _Unknown Man Shoots Himself in The Head in Front of Children_ , not a story you hear every day.”

“Do you miss him?”

“… Constantly.”

***

“Focus, Ethan.”

“I’m trying…”

“No, you’re not, you’re _thinking_ about focusing. I need you to really focus.”

“Ugh, what does that mean?”

“Talking isn’t focusing.”

“Oh, go focus yourself.”

“Alright,” Mark sighed and clicked the stopwatch, “One minute, eight seconds. You can do better.”

Ethan fell back against the sofa, wiping his brow with the back of his hand, “We’ve been doing this for hours… I’m exhausted. My head kills.”

“It’ll get easier,” Mark gave him a patient smile, “it’s just practice. You need a strong focus, and strong willpower. That’s how you’ll keep in control of your body.”

Ethan glanced back to the small blue orb sitting on the floor in front of him. It was the size of a tennis ball, and something seemed to flicker inside of it. He had to focus on the orb and not on the flickering light… which apparently, he kept doing wrong.

“Can I please get some sleep now?”

“Ten more minutes.”

“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuugh…”

***

The mattress was hard as stone, and the springs felt like spears jabbing into his back.

His new bedroom was the most depressing thing Ethan had ever laid eyes on. A single bed, shoved into the corner; thin grey sheets, a rusty metal frame, and one dirty pillow. Against the walls he had a cracked mirror, a metal cabinet, a gas lamp, and a pile of fishing magazines. He swore he saw a cockroach crawling off the pillow when they walked in.

Despite it all, Ethan was so worn out that it may as well have been a king-sized bed in a five-star hotel, with sheets made from the finest imported silk.

It was strange. After his experience with Anti, seeing what he could become, Ethan had been more than eager to start his training. Only now, if anything, he felt less confident in his ability to stay in control. The creature inside him had only appeared once so far… it seemed in no rush to make another appearance.

Why did that make him more nervous?

It was hard to stay nervous for long, however.

Soon, his eyes began to close.

As the world faded from existence, and his body was overcome by exhaustion, Ethan felt something quivering inside his chest as he fell deeply asleep…

_To be continued…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment or a kudos if you want to hear more! I love to hear theories :D 
> 
> To follow this story and many more, you can follow me on Tumblr and get them sweet updates. Darcylovette.tumblr.com
> 
> Tell your friends! It's got what plants crave!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "My chest feels funny.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by Darcy Lovette
> 
> Edited by: The Editor

Chapter Four

The next week followed a very strict schedule.

Mark would knock on Ethan’s door at exactly 6:30, every morning.

Ethan would wake up, make his way to the bathroom (a generous name for the room with the only working sink) and wash himself down with a flannel. Mark had gone out and bought him a new wardrobe; grey t-shirts, back trousers, boxers, and even a black hoodie.

After dressing Ethan would make himself some toast over the hob, which he ate dry with a bottle of water. It wasn’t exactly fine dining, but the bread was thick and very filling.

Once washed, fed, and feeling more alive, Mark would set Ethan on a thirty-year-old exercise bike for an hour. The pedals creaked with every turn, and the seat… well, let’s just say it could have bought him dinner first.

For the rest of the day Mark gave him focus exercises to do, which almost always included staring at the blue orb. They broke for lunch and dinner, both of which consisted of flavourless noodles, and then Ethan would head straight to bed while Mark went to do… whatever he did. Research and Anti-duties, probably.

On the seventh day when Mark rapped on Ethan’s door…

“Go away!” Ethan’s shout was muffled by his pillow, “It’s Sunday!”

“ _We can’t afford to take days off, Ethan._ ” Came the reply, “ _I’ll go easier on you, I promise!_ ”

“NoooooooOOOOOO!”

“ _Stop being childish._ ”

“ **You** stop being childish.”

“ _Don’t make me count to three._ ”

“One. Two. Three. Can I go back to sleep now?”

He heard a sigh, “ _… Alright. I need to go to the shop anyway, we’re low on bread. You be okay by yourself for a few hours?_ ”

Ethan could have cried with joy, “Yeah, see you later!”

As the footsteps died away, Ethan rolled over and pulled his sheets over his head. He smiled happily as he closed his eyes, and awaited the blissful return to sleep.

Unfortunately, it didn’t come.

He figured he should get up, and enjoy such a rare day off.

Ethan pulled on a pair of clothes and grabbed some biscuits from the kitchen – he washed them down with a bottle of water as he sat, feet up, on one of the lounge’s sofas. After “breakfast”, he perused the overpacked bookshelf; books on science; books on fishing; children’s books; books about childbirth; and a Big Book of British Birds by Bertha Bumpkin-Brody.

Surprisingly, none of these books really caught his attention. He was starting to realize how little there was to do here, besides his resistance training. He missed checking Twitter first thing in the morning, and watching YouTube videos while he ate. He even missed tagging his friends in stupid memes all hours of the day.

Unfortunately, his phone was still out of charge. That didn’t matter; whatever the internet was saying about him, his disappearance, and the murders – Ethan was better off not knowing. Still… it wasn’t long before he was _bored._

He sat and listened to Anti’s giggling echo down the hallways for a while (it had become white-noise to him by now), trying to flip the bottle of water upright onto the table. Sadly, the table was still a box, and shifted every time the bottle landed, causing it to topple over.

It wasn’t long before the sound of Anti left him feeling a little regretful. Should he have been taking Mark’s training more seriously, if the alternative was to end up like him; locked in his own room, with his own chains, all essence of humanity lost for good? He wondered who the man Anti had corrupted used to be… what was his name? What was he like?

These questions and many more bounced around in his head, until finally they drove him to his feet and down to the creature’s room.

***

Anti was the same as ever – a little calmer, maybe, and instead of laughing he’d started muttering nonsense to himself, rocking his body back and forth against his chains. Ethan didn’t want a repeat of their last encounter, but he knew to be smarter this time. If he kept out of reach, he’d be safe.

Anti liked to talk. Maybe he had more answers than he was willing to give before?

Ethan had grabbed the Big Book of British Birds by Bertha Bumpkin-Brody before he left. As he unlocked the door and gave it a push, he placed it onto the ground by the doorframe. He let it close behind him; the book kept the door open just a few inches.

Anti had been silently watching Ethan, who crossed over the room and sat down, his back against the wall, far away from the green-eyed creature.

“Hi, Anti.” He tried to smile warmly, ignoring how uncomfortable and anxious he was.

Anti looked confused, “ _… You came back?_ ” he mused, cocking his head to the side, fingers twitching one by one.

“I wanted to talk some more.”

“ _… What about?_ ” Anti spat.

“You.”

That seemed to make him laugh, “ _No… not me… you wanna know about… J-Jack…_ ”

“Who’s Jack?”

“ _H-his body…_ ” Anti looked down, “ _m-mine now… his before… n-not anymore._ ”

“Do you know who he was?”

“ _Yes…_ ” Anti’s voice dropped to a whisper, “ _yes… he w-was weak. His b-body was weak. I-I… am strong… w-will make his body s-strong._ ”

“How?”

“ _… No… d-don’t know._ ”

Ethan nodded, “Yeah. Can I speak to him?”

Anti shook his head.

“Please?”

“ _H-he c-can’t talk right now._ ” He giggled.

“Why not?”

Anti lifted his chin towards the ceiling, displaying the grotesque scar across his neck.

“… How did that happen?”

“ _N-not telling._ ”

“Okay. Is that why he can’t come back out?”

Anti nodded, “ _Yes… with th-this scar… I can live… w-with this scar… h-he will die._ ”

“How come you can survive with that, but he can’t?”

“ _D-dunno…_ ”

Ethan made a mental note to ask Mark when he came back.

“How long have you been in this body?”

“ _… L-long time._ ”

“Do you miss it out there? In the… real world?”

Anti looked very confused, and a little scared, “ _R-real? Th-this is real. This is the r-real world._ ”

“No, I mean…” Ethan sighed, “outside? You know, out of this room?”

“ _… Sometimes… I-I go to… another room._ ”

“Why?”

“ _N-not… can’t say…_ ”

“Alright.” Ethan was getting a bit frustrated, wondering if Anti was being purposely stupid, but he stayed calm, “You know how I came from outside this building, right?”

“ _Yes._ ”

“You came from outside this building too, didn’t you?”

Anti’s eyes went wide, “ _… I did…?_ ”

“Yeah, what do you remember?”

Anti shook his head, “ _… No… n-never been outside…_ ”

Before Ethan could respond, he heard a door slam from not-so-far away.

“Shit… I gotta go… d-don’t tell Mark I was here.”

Anti started to smile, “ _Yes… sure… I-I won’t tell **Mark.**_ ”

Ethan scrambled to his feet and ran through the door, swooping down to grab the book as he did. Once the door was securely closed, he raced back to the lounge and flopped onto the sofa, flipped the book to a random page, and started to “read”.

Seconds later, Mark’s head appeared around the corner, “Hey,” he smiled, “you’re up?”

“Uh, yeah,” Ethan tried not to let how out of breath he was obvious, “just… got bored. Thought I’d catch up on some reading.”

Mark glanced at the book in his hands; his expression shifted, “… Yeah. Well… there’s more water in the fridge if you need it.” He smiled again, and then he was gone.

Ethan wondered why he looked so weird for a second.

He looked back at the book – and realized he’d been holding it upside down the whole time.

***

Ethan spent the rest of the day flipping through the Big Book of British Birds by Bertha Bumpkin-Brody, hoping to convince Mark his interest in birds was genuine. Fifty pages later, Ethan realized he _did_ have a genuine interest in British birds. Birds did descend from dinosaurs after all (or something like that).

Mark was doing some work in another room, something he usually did after Ethan went to bed. Maybe _he_ was glad for the day off as well. It was getting close to when they’d usually stop for dinner when Mark came back into the lounge, looking a little… dishevelled.

“Hungry?” he asked.

“Starving.” Ethan replied.

Mark whipped them up two bowls of noodles; Ethan ate his alongside a slice of bread, whilst Mark had a smaller portion.

“Good to see your appetite is normal.” He nodded, “You can still feel hungry?”

Ethan raised an eyebrow, “… Is that bad?”

“No,” Mark laughed, “no, it’s fine. Basically… you’ll stop feeling hungry after a while. You can still enjoy eating, you just won’t really need to. But you should – it keeps your human side stronger.”

“Oh…” Ethan suddenly didn’t feel so hungry, “… god, I feel like I’m going through puberty again – all these changes.”

Mark laughed, “Yeah. You sleeping okay?”

“Sort of.”

“Hm?”

Ethan raked at the noodles with his fork, “My chest feels funny.”

“Funny good, or funny bad?”

“I don’t know. Like… shaky.”

Mark’s eyebrows raised, “Huh.”

“… What?”

“That’s… excellent,” Mark smiled, “It means the training is already working.”

“How?”

“Don’t think about it, but it’s a good sign. I’ll explain more another time…” he put down the bowl and rose to his feet, “I have to go check on Anti.”

“Okay…” Ethan took another bite of noodles, “… wait!” Mark looked down, “Um… that thing on his neck… how did that happen?”

Mark frowned, “… He broke a beaker when I was giving him a check-up, and… did it to himself.”

Ethan winced at the image, “God… why would he do that?”

“Not sure. All I know is until I can get it healed, the human in him won’t be able to get out.”

“Jack?”

Mark went still, “… Yeah… how did… you…?”

_Shit. Shit. Shit._

“I-I heard him yelling it one time… wh-when I was going to pee.” Ethan stammered, “Yeah, I figured… that must be wh-who’s body he’s… in.” he coughed, “H-how does he survive with that scar, exactly?”

Mark continued to stare down at him, “… Not sure yet.”

“Cool. Cool, cool.” Ethan grabbed Mark’s bowl and stood up, “Well, I’ll get these cleared up and… early night, heh. Goodnight!”

“It’s 5:30.”

“I know, suuuuper early night!” Ethan ducked out the room and walked as fast (yet naturally) as he could to the kitchen. He tossed the bowls into the sink and collapsed against the counter, trying to stop his heart from pounding so fast.

***

It took thirty minutes of deep breathing, flat on his back, for Ethan’s heart to chill the fuck out.

The more he slept in this bed, the more he noticed how uncomfortable it truly was. The springs felt more like a bed of nails covered by a thin piece of fabric. He was constantly catching his skin on a nasty bit of rust, and the entire thing creaked every time he rolled over.

He decided he would sleep on one of the sofas tonight.

Grabbing his pillow and sheets, he tiptoed through the darkness and into the dimly lit lounge. He positioned the pillow, laid on his back, and pulled the blanket over him body.

_Better. So much better._

The lab felt much quieter that night. The lights weren’t buzzing, the insects weren’t singing, even Anti had stopped giggling.

In fact… as he dropped into sleep, he noticed he didn’t hear Anti at all that night.

_To be continued…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment or a kudos if you want to hear more! I love to hear theories :D 
> 
> To follow this story and many more, you can follow me on Tumblr and get them sweet updates. Darcylovette.tumblr.com
> 
> Tell your friends! It's got what plants crave!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You can trust me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by Darcy Lovette
> 
> Edited by: The Editor

Chapter Five

Ethan awoke that morning to find himself still in the laboratory… but something was different.

Everything looked the same; nothing had changed in the past few hours.

As Ethan sat himself up, the sofa groaning under his weight – he realized.

It was so _quiet_.

Ethan checked his watch. 4am.

Mark should be asleep, right?

He had questions.

And he couldn’t wait another week.

Ethan took of his shoes to ensure he wouldn’t make any sound.

 

As he approached Anti’s room, he noticed something had changed. The blinds were gone; in their place were wooden panels. He thought he had the wrong room, but no. This was it. Eighth door from the kitchen, on the left, next to the window.

Mark must have known he’d talked to Anti again.

He’d even taken the key.

Ethan sighed, swearing under his breath. He gave the handle an optimistic shake – it didn’t budge.

Defeated, he turned to walk back to the lounge.

The sight of Mark stood right in front of him, wearing a white lab coat, made him jump out of his skin.

“Ethan?” said Mark in his low, now unsettlingly calm voice.

“M-Mer…” Ethan coughed, almost slipping on the tiled flooring, “Mark? Hey!”

“What are you doing?”

“Just… took a walk.”

Mark looked at the panelled windows, then back at Ethan, “I told you to keep away from him. He’s dangerous.”

“I know, I just… I-I just…” Ethan’s hands trembled, “I… was curious… I was only going to lo-”

“No, you have no excuse.” Mark sounded a little angry, “I told you to stay away from him. He slashed his own throat, what do you think he’ll do to you?”

“B-but h-he won’t hurt me!” Ethan shook his head sharply, “He said he won’t! H-he said I… I’m l-like him…”

Mark suddenly looked very pale, “… He said _what?_ ”

He didn’t know how, but Ethan knew he’d fucked up, “I’m… I’m like him? L-like, I-I have the-the thing inside me!”

“… When did he say this…?”

“L-last week… he was g-going to kill me, I think, but then he like… tasted something in my blood, a-and… s-said he won’t hurt me. B-because I’m like him!”

Mark’s eyes drifted to the side, as if deep in thought, “… Yes, Ethan. That’s true – you are like him.”

“Yeah, b-because I-I have a monster inside me, and he… he _is_ a monster… wait…”

Mark grabbed Ethan’s arm gently, “Stop fretting. You’re safe. Leave Anti alone, okay?”

“… Okay…”

“Promise me you won’t go near this room again, unless I say you can.”

“I promise.”

Mark smiled, “Atta boy. You should get some more rest, big day tomorrow.”

“Haha, yeah.” Just like every day.

“… Don’t go looking for answers, Ethan.” Mark said, slowly, “You’ll only find trouble. If there’s anything you want to know – you can ask me. You can trust me.”

“I-I do trust you.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I do worry about you sometimes. Goodnight.”

“N-night.”

Ethan walked back towards the lounge, wanting to grab his things and head to his room. His eyes began to itch; he yawned as he rubbed them. In his sleepy stupor, he took a wrong turn and ended up in a hall he’d never seen before. He cursed and reached for a light switch on the wall.

The lights began to flicker on one at a time; the cold, yellow glow swam down the hallway and gave everything a creepy, dream-like filter. Ethan paced a little, looking around himself, trying and failing to gather his bearings. He saw a spider catch an eerily large moth in its web. As he watched the spider creep slowly towards it… he slipped on something unseen.

He fell back onto the floor with a nasty _smack_.

It took a few seconds for the air to return to his lungs, but he wasn’t too badly hurt. What was that?

Rising shakily to his feet, Ethan scanned the ground. Something, about nine feet ahead of him, caught his eye. The lights above reflected off it, dancing like flames the closer he moved towards it. It looked like it was made of plastic.

Ethan reached down and picked it up.

It was an airtight bag, only without the air. Whatever was inside had been sucked dry. He turned it over in his hands, but there wasn’t really anything unusual about it. Just an empty airtight bag, complete with nozzle. Then again, this was a laboratory. It was probably used to hold something… _infectious_ …

Ethan dropped the bag with a yelp, wiping his hands on his shirt and grimacing. He glared at the bag, as if it had somehow insulted him. He made a note to wash his hands before he went to sleep.

As he took a step forward, something was dripping out of the bag. Ethan stopped, crouched to his knees, and peered closer. He watched as a drop oozed onto the floor, leaving a little red circle where it fell.

_Is that… blood?_

A memory flashed through Ethan’s mind, so violently it almost knocked him back down. He saw his bed sheets covered in red… he pulled them back and saw his clothes and skin coated in blood…

Ethan stood and ran as far from the plastic bag as he could, leaving the droplet of blood to dry on the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment or a kudos if you want to hear more! I love to hear theories :D 
> 
> To follow this story and many more, you can follow me on Tumblr and get them sweet updates. Darcylovette.tumblr.com
> 
> Tell your friends! It's got what plants crave!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “My… name… is… Jack…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by Darcy Lovette
> 
> Edited by: The Editor

Chapter Six

Ethan did not sleep for the rest of the night.

In fact, he could barely lay down for more than a minute before he had to sit up, pull at his hair, and feel his heart threaten to burst. Each time he closed his eyes all he saw was blood. He imagined what those murders must have looked like; he saw hands clutching heads, grasping them, pulling them, ripping them from their necks. The hands… they were _his_ hands.

They may not have been under his control, but _his_ hands had committed those crimes. _His_ hands had ended those lives. _His_ hands had broken families, stolen futures, and destroyed countless hopes and dreams. He stared at them – he wanted to rip them off too.

He needed air.

Kicking the sheets away, Ethan got up and stormed out the door. He ran down hallway after hallway, his hands smacking against walls with every turn. He felt like he was drowning.

Eventually he came across a huge metal door, most unlike the others. He smiled weakly and ran towards it, arms outstretched, until his body collided quite forcefully against it. He padded the door with his palms, it had to be here… where was it… where was…

There was no handle.

There was only a keyhole.

He couldn’t get out.

Ethan, in a fit of anger, punched the door as hard as he could.

The door stayed the same, but he felt something crack inside his hand.

He looked down; his knuckles were busted and bled, two of his fingers bent in ways they weren’t supposed to. He’d broken them.

 _Good,_ he thought.

He let his useless hand dangle by his side – he noticed how strange it was that he felt no pain there, yet somehow, he had lost the ability to care. He turned around to walk away, back to his room, the only place where anything made sense.

_No… not yet, can’t go back yet…_

Something inside him seemed to speak, urging him not to return to his room. Ethan couldn’t explain it, but he also didn’t question it. His feet came to a halt, and for a while he merely stood and stared into the empty, yellowed hallway.

Ten minutes passed.

An hour.

A little longer.

Ethan felt something shifting around his body, as if the world was moving around him. Everything began to spin, then lurch forward. The next thing he knew, Ethan was stood outside a white door, with no memory of how he got there.

He looked down at his hand; still broken.

He placed his other hand on the handle, and turned it slowly to the left.

The door opened.

Inside, he saw a room he’d hadn’t entered before. The walls were lined with shelves; bottles, vials, goggles, masks, scalpels, knives, needles, and hundreds more things he couldn’t identify. Above his head a single bulb dangled from the ceiling, its light flickering and struggling against the darkness. In the centre of the room was a chair – the kind you’d see in a dentist’s room.

Anti was laid out on the chair.

His hands and his ankles were strapped down.

Something was tied around his head, holding it back, forcing his chin into the air.

His chest was exposed – there were scars everywhere.

The floor was covered in blood.

The chair was covered in blood.

Anti was covered in blood.

Their eyes met. Ethan had never seen the creature look so scared; his eyes were wide and bloodshot, his entire body shook like a leaf, his chest rose and fell rapidly as his high, uncontrollable breathing become faster and faster.

“ _H… H… H…_ ” wheezed Anti, mouth twisting open and shut, “ _… h-help me…_ ”

“Anti?” Ethan stepped away, “W-what is this? What’s going on?”

“ _H-help… help… m-me…_ ”

Ethan wanted to laugh if the sight wasn’t so horrifying, “I’m not falling for that one again.”

“ _I-it’s… m-me…_ ” Anti gargled on something, then breathed again, “ _it’s… m-me… n-not… h-him…_ ”

Ethan froze.

His eyes and hair were still green. His teeth still fangs. Everything about him looked the same. Except… different?

“Who the hell are you?”

“ _My… name… is… Jack…_ ”

Ethan’s eyes fell on his neck – the scar had been stitched up with thread.

He began to walk towards him, “… Your name is Jack?”

“ _Y-yes…_ ” he croaked, “ _I… can’t fight… v-very long… I-I’m… sc-scared…_ ”

“It’s okay, it’s okay!” Ethan held up his hands, “It’s okay! I’m here.”

“ _Wh-who… are you?_ ”

“My name is Ethan. I’m like you. I have something evil inside me, but it’s okay, Mark is going to help me. He’s going to help **us**. You have to be strong, okay?”

“ _H-help?_ ”

“Yes, help! He’ll fix us. He’ll save us!”

“ _… M-Mark…_ ” Jack looked very tired, “ _Mark… he brought me here… said h-he’d help…_ ”

“Yes, and he will! H-he just got to you a bit… too late, okay? But there’s hope!”

“ _… T-too late?_ ”

Ethan regretted his choice of words, “No, not too late! Just late! But you’ll be okay!”

Jack turned his head an inch to the left, then to the right, then to the left, “ _Not… too late… Mark… just… in time…_ ”

“What do you mean?”

“ _… Found me…_ ”

“Yes?”

“ _… My house…_ ”

“Yeah, y-you can remember your house?”

“ _… D-drove me… f-far away…_ ”

“Yeah, I came in a car too.”

“ _You’re…_ ” Jack gritted his teeth and grunted in pain, “ _… not…_ ” he gasped for air, “ _… listening…_ ”

“… Oh…” Ethan rubbed the back of his head, “What… can you remember? F-from the day you met Mark?”

“ _… Trust… him…_ ”

“Yeah?”

“ _N-no… t-trusted… him…_ ”

“… You didn’t trust him?”

“ _No… n-no… you do-_ ” suddenly, Jack cried out in pain, his screams echoed through the room, “ _… th-the bad… man… h-he’s… c-coming…_ ”

The bad man.

“ _The b-bad man… d-did this to me…_ ”

“Who is the bad man?”

“ _The bad man… is c-coming back…_ ”

“Who is the bad man?!”

Jack screamed again. Then, the scream turned to laugher.

**Anti.**

Ethan watched as the creature tried to escape, thrusting its chest high into the air. One by one, the threads holding his neck together started to pop, and the entire wound split open, blood dripping everywhere.

Their eyes locked, “ _D-d-did you m-miss me?_ ”

“Anti?” someone was calling from down the hallway.

Ethan swore. He leapt back and stared desperately at the room around him. Somewhere… anywhere… aha, perfect.

He ran across the room and shut himself inside a small cabinet, just big enough for him to squeeze into. Just as he pulled the cabinet door closed, someone had entered the room.

“… Oh, god…” he heard Mark’s voice, “… I was only gone for one hour. How are _you_ back?!”

“ _… G-got bored…_ ” came Anti’s giggle.

There was a sigh, “Thanks for ruining those stiches, you piece of shit.”

“ _You’re welcome… hehehe… I l-like it when they break… pop… pop…_ ”

“Shut up. Is Jack there?”

“ _J-Jack’s gone._ ”

“Dammit… I needed to… no matter. You’re staying here tonight.”

Ethan heard a high whimper, “ _No… d-don’t like it here…_ ”

“You’re not going back to that room again. I can’t trust you in there.”

Anti growled, then giggled, “ _B-but you can trust me… **I** trust **you** …_”

“Goodnight, Anti.”

Ethan felt his heart sink as he listened to the door lock shut.

Mark on one side.

Ethan and Anti on the other.

_To be continued..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment or a kudos if you want to hear more! I love to hear theories :D 
> 
> To follow this story and many more, you can follow me on Tumblr and get them sweet updates. Darcylovette.tumblr.com
> 
> Tell your friends! It's got what plants crave!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Stupid. Weak. Idiot. F-foolish.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by Darcy Lovette
> 
> Edited by: The Editor

Chapter Seven

Ethan ignored the way his joints scream in protest as he squeezed out of the cabinet. As he ran towards the door he glanced at Anti; he was laying quite still, though he did tremble terribly, his wide eyes fixed on the ceiling. He was whimpering. Ethan ignored him.

The door wouldn’t budge. Ethan started opened drawers and boxes, tossing their contents in every direction, occasionally forgetting to breathe. There had to be a spare key somewhere… there just had to be. Mark wouldn’t be back until the following evening… he couldn’t stay here…

_‘Goodnight, Anti.’_

Ethan paused and glanced at his watch; 8am.

_Goodnight?_

Eventually, Ethan abandoned his search. He pressed his palms over his eyes and breathed, nice and deeply, like he used to do before exams.

_What was Mark going to say when he found him?_

_What was Mark going to do when he found him?_

Why did those questions leave him feeling so… scared?

No… he trusted Mark. Mark was there to help them. Mark brought him here to help him. If he didn’t trust Mark there was no one he could trust.

And yet…

He turned back to Anti.

“I need your help.”

Anti was either ignoring him, or simply couldn’t hear him.

“Anti… I need to ask you some questions. I-I need your help.”

The creature’s head turned to face him, “ _… F-free me._ ”

“I can’t do that!”

“ _If you free me… I-I’ll… help you…_ ”

“I can’t…”

“ _W-won’t hurt you._ ”

Ethan looked back at the door.

“… If I untie you…” said Ethan, slowly, “I need you to get back in the chair and let me tie you in again afterwards. Or Mark will know. Then, you must answer every single question I give you. Deal?”

Anti snarled.

“Deal?”

Anti quivered.

“ _… Deal._ ”

Whatever Mark had used to tie Anti to the chair, he’d done a good job. It took ten minutes for Ethan to untie just one (especially difficult with a busted hand), but once he learned how the rest came off pretty easily. Once he’d freed Anti’s head he took a step back.

“Okay. You can get up now.”

Anti blinked a few times, but otherwise didn’t move, as if he were still incapacitated. It was his hands first; pulling them to his scarred, bloody chest. He clasped his hands together, letting his eyes close as his fingers intertwined and grasped at each other. Once satisfied, he lifted his head and his torso, sitting up very slowly. After a while he stopped trembling as much.

“ _I’m thirsty._ ” He whispered, swaying a little.

“Uh…” Ethan stared around the room, “Um… I don’t think there’s any…” he noticed something resembling a freezer tucked into the corner. “Hang on.” Ethan hurried towards it, yanking open the door, and jumping back with a yell.

The freezer was full of airtight bags.

These ones were full of blood.

Ethan wanted to vomit. He turned his head away, but his gaze landed on Anti, still swaying, in his chair. _Anti liked blood._ He knew that. Maybe the creature would be more favourable to answer his questions if… well, it’s not like he had a choice.

Grimacing, Ethan grabbed a bag of blood and walked back to Anti. He wondered how long the blood must have been in that freezer – what the hell kind of science did this lab used to be for? The bag so was cold and… soft in his hands, his skin crawled if he thought about it too much.

Eager to stop touching it, Ethan threw the bag onto Anti’s lap and turned his back.

The sound of ripping, then snarling, then a horrible, squelching sound swam through the room, followed by ecstatic, hungry gulps. Ethan’s urge to be sick rose inside him again.

He waited until the sounds stopped, and the bag fell to the floor. Anti wasn’t breathing so rapidly anymore. Ethan turned back to Anti; whose mouth, chest, and hands were slightly bloodier than usual. He seemed happy.

Ethan watched as Anti’s hands grasped the arms of the chair, and flung himself forward. He stood for a second, stumbled, and collapsed in a heap on the floor. He broke into a crawl, then he was on his feet, a little wobbly but full of energy. He started to laugh.

“ _Finally!_ ” Anti sighed, “ _I was so tired of being tied down. So tired of being a prisoner._ ” Ethan noticed his stammer had gone, and his voice wasn’t as raspy as before.

“Are you ready to answer my questions?”

Anti smiled, “ _Yes. Anything you need, my **friend.**_ ”

Ethan winced, “Alright. Who is the bad man?”

“ _You already know._ ”

Ethan rolled his eyes, “Dammit… I thought you would answer my questions!”

“ _I don’t need to answer that one._ ”

“I’ll come back to it… what do you know about Jack?”

“ _I know some things. My kind… we don’t know much about our hosts. I can feel him… he’s scared. He’s weak. He’s been betrayed._ ”

“By who?”

“ _His friend._ ”

“Do you… see his memories?”

“ _Yes._ ” Anti was pacing around the room, touching anything he could get his hands on, “ _Not many… I can see… a car. He was inside it. The car was taking him far away… he was afraid. I can see… something small. Glass. A little green ball, flickering… s-sometimes… if I try really hard… I can see him staring at **me**. I’m in front of him – he’s staring down at me… I-I’m getting closer._ ” Anti giggled, “ _That’s **my** earliest memory._ ”

“You don’t remember being outside of here?”

“ _No…_ ”

“You don’t remember the people you killed?”

“ _I can._ ”

“So, you don’t remember being outside here, but you remember the people you’d killed?”

“ _Yeah… they screamed **real** loud._ ”

Ethan didn’t want to talk anymore about that, “Okay. Good. What can you tell me about Mark?”

“ _Stupid. Weak. Idiot. F-foolish._ ”

“Does he hurt you?”

“ _No… Mark never hurt me…_ ”

“How did you get that scar on your neck?”

Anti shivered, “ _Bad man did it._ ”

Ethan felt his heart leap, “You did that to yourself. **You’re** the bad man!”

“ _The bad man did it so Jack would go away. W-when the scar is healed… Jack can come out to play._ ”

“What would happen if Jack tried to come back while the scar wasn’t healed?”

“ _He couldn’t._ ”

“What if he tried?”

“ _He’d **fail.**_ ”

“Why do you call yourself the bad man?”

Anti frozen, “ _… Not bad._ ” He giggled, “ _I’m powerful. I was chosen. Jack was chosen. You were chosen. We were all chosen… w-we aren’t bad… we’re part of something great._ ”

“Who chose us?”

Anti locked eyes with Ethan, “ _… The bad man._ ”

“Why did he choose us?”

“ _Don’t know… h-he chose my host… he chose me… now we’re together. **Forever.**_ ”

Ethan took a seat on the chair. Was Mark’s theory wrong? Someone… out there was putting these creatures inside of them. It put Anti into Jack. It put the murderer into Ethan. He put…

“So, you are inside Jack, so to speak?”

“ _Yes._ ”

“Who is inside Mark?”

“ _His name… Dark._ ”

Ethan laughed, “Is that really his name? It’s a… little on the nose, isn’t it?”

Anti looked angry, “ _Is Ethan really your name? It’s a little dumb, isn’t it?_ ”

Ethan blinked, “Wow, you’re mean.”

Anti looked flattered, “ _Is that all your questions?_ ”

“No…” he racked his brain, “… How many people have you killed?”

“ _Fifty-seven._ ”

Ethan blinked at him, “Jesus… Mark only told me about eight. You killed fifty-seven people before you came here?!”

“ _No._ ”

Ethan rolled his eyes, “I feel like you’re being difficult on purpose.”

“ _I killed someone **three** **days ago.**_ ”

“… W-what?”

_Footsteps._

_Someone was coming._

“Shit… get back in the chair.”

Anti glared.

“Now! That was the deal! Now!”

Anti glowered and snarled, but got into the chair. Ethan strapped him in as best he could, before diving behind a box in the corner. He was close to the door… maybe he could…

The door opened before he could finish that thought.

“… Hm…”

Ethan kept his eyes on Mark’s shadow, as it danced around the room.

“… You look stronger than before. What happened?”

Anti didn’t answer him.

“You’re not supposed to get stronger… Jack was supposed to get stronger. You… this is… interesting.”

Anti cackled, “ _Are you proud of me?_ ”

Mark laughed.

Ethan’s blood turned to ice.

“ **Very much.** ”

_To be continued..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment or a kudos if you want to hear more! I love to hear theories :D 
> 
> To follow this story and many more, you can follow me on Tumblr and get them sweet updates. Darcylovette.tumblr.com
> 
> Tell your friends! It's got what plants crave!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'Go inside, go inside, go inside, go inside'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by Darcy Lovette
> 
> Edited by: The Editor

Chapter Eight

‘ _Are you proud of me?_ ’

‘ _Very much._ ’

Ethan felt like the world was melting away. His head was spinning. He was going to be sick.

Why was Mark talking to Anti like that? This didn’t make sense. No, Mark must have been lying. He was kidding. It was all a technique… a way to gather Anti’s trust in order to help Jack, right?

_‘You can trust me… I trust you.’_

Mark had sewed up his neck. He sewed it up so that Jack could come back, didn’t he? Jack could only come back if he didn’t have a gaping wound in his neck… Mark was upset that he’d broken his stiches, wasn’t he?

_‘I was only gone for one hour. How are you back?!’_

_‘Thanks for ruining those stiches, you piece of shit.’_

Yeah, Mark wanted to help Jack. He wanted to help Jack take back control – of course he did, why was he even questioning that? He wanted to help Jack, but then he came in and Anti was back; this annoyed him. That was it, wasn’t it?

_‘Are you proud of me?’_

No…

_‘Very much.’_

Anti took back control so quickly, even when his neck was still sewn shut. Mark hadn’t expected that… but he couldn’t have been proud. He was… angry. He hated Anti.

_‘You evil little shit, what did you do?’_

Yeah, Anti was evil. That’s why Mark wanted to keep Ethan away. That’s why he moved him to this room. That’s why he took the key, and boarded up the window. To protect Ethan. Anti wasn’t to be trusted.

_‘You and your games…your games get people killed.’_

Was this all a game? Everything Anti had said, all this talk of the bad man and Mark and the person he’d supposedly killed three days ago… it was a game. Just because Ethan helped him, gave him blood, doesn’t change the fact he’s an evil, untrustworthy trickster. And now Ethan was starting to… question. He was having doubts. He was scared.

This was all part of Anti’s plan.

He knew it.

He couldn’t afford to believe anything else.

‘ _…your games get people killed.’_

_‘I killed someone three days ago.’_

That was impossible. Ethan was here, he would have seen. He would have heard something. Everything that happened in Anti’s room echoed down the halls, it was hard to miss. Ethan noticed his hand was touching something soft, yes scratchy, with his fingertips. He tilted his head and saw a foam panel stuck to the wall, underneath his fingers. He looked around – every inch of the wall was coated in these panels.

**Soundproof.**

Ethan noticed how untidy the room was. Bits and pieces scattered amongst the shelves, even strewn across the floor.

The blood. There was just so much.

The foam panels… something had scratched them, over and over. Almost looked like fingernails…

Ethan couldn’t think straight. He wanted to run. He had to get out of this room – it was clouding his focus, he was having… some very, very bad thoughts.

Anti and Mark were talking behind him; he hadn’t been listening. He breathed slowly, covered his eyes with his fingers, and strained his ears to listen…

“Once the neck was closed, how long did it take for Jack to come back?”

“ _F-forty… minutes._ ”

“Wow, quicker than last time.” Mark was scribbling on something, taking notes? “Did he break the stitches, or was that you?”

“ _… Me._ ”

“How long did it take you to come back?”

“ _T-twenty minutes… I think…_ ”

Mark made a thoughtful noise, scribbling some more, “I’m impressed. But you weren’t supposed to break the stitches, Anti. I wanted to see how well you kept control _with_ them, not how long it takes you to break them.”

“ _I… was tired…_ ”

“Look, I can’t keep giving you the advantage. Sooner or later you’re going to have to exist without that thing on your neck. Ugh, looks like you’ll be back in here tomorrow night…”

Anti whimpered.

“Oh, unless you’d like to spend the next week in your room?”

Anti didn’t respond.

“That’s what I thought. Now, I need to go. I gave your little friend a lie in today – don’t want him to need any more reason to dislike me, _do we?_ ”

Ethan felt his heart drop out his ass.

“Don’t think I’ll put him on the bike today… he’s pretty weak, that much is clear. Don’t need him getting stronger, eh?”

The sounds of Mark’s footsteps, growing closer and closer, seemed so soft and far away in Ethan’s mind. Wait… they _were_ far away. Mark was gone. _He was heading straight for Ethan’s room._

He’d forgotten to lock the door.

This was his only chance.

Ethan stood up and bolted out the door, smacked into a wall, and stared down the corridor.

He couldn’t beat Mark back to his room.

Mark was probably there now. Knocking. Waiting for him.

_Shit. Shit. Shit._

_The lounge?_

_The kitchen?_

_The lounge!_

**_Fuck it!!_ **

Skidding along the tiled floor, Ethan ran. He felt blood pounding in his head. Something was ringing in his ears. Everything he’d heard, everything he’d learned, everything he thought he knew playing and replaying over and over in his mind – blasted over a thousand speakers in his head.

He hadn’t time to think about that.

If he didn’t get to the lounge…

He rounded a corner. Another. One more. He was close.

There was the door.

He tried to stop, but his feet kept on going. Why did he take off his shoes?!

Falling a few times, he dragged himself towards the door. He jumped in. He shut it behind him. He fell onto the sofa, placed his feet on one of the boxes, and shoved his hands (one still broken) into the pockets of his hoodie.

Seconds later there was a rustling at the door.

He’d made it?

The door swung open and there was Mark. Still in his lab coat. His expression completely flat.

“Ethan.”

“Oh, Mark.” Ethan acted surprised, “Hey. I-I noticed you didn’t knock on my door, w-were you busy? I figured I’d come here and… wait for you.”

“I thought you might like a lie in today,” Mark smiled, something about it sent shivers down Ethan’s spine, “You’d been doing so well. That day off seemed to have really helped. I don’t want to push you too hard, you know? So, you don’t have to ride the exercise bike anymore.”

A few days ago, Ethan would have given anything to hear Mark say that.

“Oh… th-that’s a shame,” Ethan nodded, looking away, “I kinda liked the exercise bike. I didn’t at first, but… hey, it’s good to stay fit!”

Mark laughed – Ethan realized how forced it sounds, “I wish you’d said that earlier. I tossed it out. Maybe I’ll get you a new one sometime… if I get the money.”

“Um…” Ethan’s stomach twisted, “… thanks.”

“I’ve told you before,” Mark took a step forward, “anything you need, I can get it. I know it’s… not preferable, living here. I’m sure you miss your family. I’m sure you miss your old life. I know I miss mine… but if there’s anything I can do to help make this as… not-horrible as possible, you say the word. I can provide it.”

“… Thank you, Mark.”

Mark placed a hand on Ethan’s shoulder – _cold_. “No problem. Shall we start training?”

“Uuuh…” Ethan thought about Anti’s memory; Jack staring at the glass ball. Focusing. Mark had told him to. “Uh… I’m… I have a headache.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, big one. Do you have a… ball with a little less… glare? A darker colour, maybe? Th-that blue is a bit bright.”

Mark shook his head, he was smiling, “You sound just like me when I started my training. No, this is the only one I own.” He reached into his pocket, “The others were broken, this is the last one.” The blue ball was in his hand, “They’re hard to come by. Hey, try it? Maybe the headache will go away after a while.”

“I don’t think so, it’s pretty bad.”

“Well,” Mark’s voice dropped, his expression tighter, “that will make the training more effective.”

“Can I get a bottle of water first?”

“ **Fine.** ” Mark snapped, then seemed to regret it “… Fine, of course. Sorry… I’ve had a long night.”

Ethan smiled and hurried out the door, trying to ignore the feeling of Mark watching him leave.

***

He broke into a run.

He didn’t know where he was going, or what he was going to do.

But he wasn’t going to look at that blue glass ball. Not for a second. Whatever it was… it sure wasn’t a decoration.

Ethan passed door after door, switching directions every few corridors. The further he went, the more he realized the layout of this lab made no sense. It wasn’t that big, yet he’d been running left for ten minutes straight. Surely it was impossible he could go any further?

But he could.

So he did.

The further he ran the more he felt something burning in his chest. Had he been running for too long? He rubbed a palm against his chest – then he stared at his hands.

_His broken hand was completely healed._

The pain in his chest only grew and grew; it felt like it was buzzing, humming, shifting inside him like a moth trapped under a glass. It was getting harder to breathe.

But he kept running… faster… further… don’t stop… don’t stop…

 _Stop_ , whispered a voice in his head.

 _Stop, stop, stop, stop,_ whispered a hundred voices in his chest.

Ethan stopped.

There was a room in front of him; one he hadn’t seen before. There was no door.

The room was completely pitch black. Not even the light of the corridor could reach it. The whole room was shrouded in shadow, so thick it consumed everything and everyone that could be hiding inside.

 _Go inside,_ whispered the voice in his head.

 _Go inside, go inside, go inside, go inside,_ whispered the voices in his chest.

“Why?” Ethan replied, as softly as he could, “What’s… in there?”

 _You’ll see_ , whispered the voice in his head.

 _You’ll see, you’ll see, you’ll see_ , whispered the voices in his chest.

Ethan did not question these voices, not even for a second. They felt so familiar, regular, like they’d always been there.

He gave a nod. “Okay…” he sighed, “okay… I trust you…”

Ethan stepped forward into the darkness…

_To be continued…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment or a kudos if you want to hear more! I love to hear theories :D
> 
> To follow this story and many more, you can follow me on Tumblr and get them sweet updates. Darcylovette.tumblr.com
> 
> Tell your friends! It's got what plants crave!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No.
> 
> Not him. Anyone but him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by Darcy Lovette
> 
> Edited by: The Editor

Chapter Nine

There was nothing.

Ethan rubbed his eyes, blinking a few times before trying to focus.

He couldn’t even see his hands in front of his face.

Looking back he saw the doorway was still behind him, the light from the corridor still visible. But when he turned back... darkness.

Complete and utter nothingness.

The longer he stood in the emptiness of the room the less he could feel his extremities; it was  as if numbness was spreading through his body. He wanted to turn back… he needed get out.

 _Don’t go,_ whispered the voice in his head.

 _Don’t go, don’t go, don’t go, don’t go,_ whispered the voices in his chest.

“What is this place?” Ethan whispered back “W-what’s in here?”

 _They are,_ whispered the voice in his head.

 _We are, we are, we are, we are,_ whispered the voices in his chest.

_You have to help them._

_You have to help us, you have to help us, you have to help us, you have to help us._

Ethan took a shaky step forward “How do I help you? Where are you, I can’t see a thing!”

The voices didn’t answer him.

“Please? I’m… scared. I need help too.” He kept walking “I’m so alone in here… I don’t know how to get out! I need to get out, something's not right here. This building isn’t right! Please! Help me…”

_Help them._

_Help us, help us, help us, help us._

Ethan blinked and almost missed it.

A tiny flicker of light; straight ahead of him.

“Is that you?” Ethan started grinning “I can see you! I’m coming!”

He walked towards the light. Soon enough they morphed into dozens of lights, flickering and vanishing like fireflies or stars in the darkness.

“I’m almost there, can you hear me?”

 _We can, we can, we can, we can_. whispered the voices-

-but they weren’t inside his chest this time.

The voices were all around him; echoing through the darkness- calling him deeper and deeper.

Ethan looked up. Hundreds and hundreds of tiny balls of light were hovering above his head. They shone brilliantly against the shadows; so many vibrant colours that Ethan was mesmerised, a huge smile on his face. He’d never seen anything more beautiful, more stunning, more enticing.

“Hello!” he called to them “I’m here to help, but I need your help too! Will you help me?”

 _We will help you,_ the voices spoke in unison.

“Oh, thank god!” Ethan almost wept “Thank god! What do I do? What do you need?”

The lights began to float down towards him.

_We need you._

Ethan paused “I… I’m here, what do I do?”

The lights kept drifting down lower and lower, Ethan was struggling to keep his eyes on all of them at once.

_Let us in._

“I… I don’t understand…” his gaze fell on a bright red light which stopped a few inches before his face “I don’t understa-”

This close he Ethan could see lights were small, glass like orbs. Something was flickering tantalisingly inside them.

“No…” Ethan stumbled back, but the lights only moved closer “no… I-I don’t know what you are, b-but... the deal’s off! I’m leaving”

_Let us in!_

“No!!”

_Let us in! Let us in! Let us in! **L e t u s i n!**_

The voices were screaming. Advancing. Chanting.

Ethan barely had time to spin around and bolt towards the door, but his legs were so numb it felt impossible to stand. It was like a dream- he no longer had full control.

**_Let us in._ **

The lights were charging in front of his face, causing him to swerve and duck to avoid them.

“Get away from me!”

**_You said you would help us._ **

“Leave me alone!”

**_Let us in._ **

The door seemed to be getting closer.... or was it moving away?

He kept running. The lights only moved faster.

 _You are weak._ whispered the voice in his head.

Ethan clasped his hands over his ears “Shut up!”

_Weak. You were chosen. You cannot run away._

“Fucking watch me!”

_They have been waiting. Waiting so long. You cannot leave them behind._

_I will not let you._

Ethan’s legs stopped moving.

He toppled forward.

He couldn’t feel the ground beneath him; it felt like he was floating on air. Wind rushed past and he screamed and waited to fall… but he only hovered, like the lights did. The door was but thirty feet away from him.

So, he crawled. It felt like crawling through mud... but he kept going. The lights were all around him, so bright it hurt to keep his eyes open. So he closed them. But he kept going.

 _You will regret this,_ promised the voice in his head.

_You are the one we have waited for._

_We will not let you leave._

**_He_ ** _will not let you leave._

**_He_ ** _will set us free._

Ethan’s finger tips grasped ahead – the doorway was in front of him. He flung himself up with all his might - jumped out of the darkness and into the corridor.

A door which wasn’t there before slammed shut behind him.

Ethan’s threw his back against it. He dug his feet into the floor and held it, his chest heaving painfully with every breath. His face burned, sweat dripping into his eyes.

The buzzing feeling had gone.

With standing the last thing on his mind, Ethan sat there, panting for air, staring at the ground as he tried to process what had just happened.

But he couldn’t. His head was full of fog.

The voice in his head – he realized he couldn’t recognise it.

_You must go back._

“No!”

_You fool. You must. You were chosen._

“Get out!!”

_You must go back._

“Stop! Leave me al-”

“ _Oh my god._ ”

Ethan felt his heart stop. He looked to his left… someone was staring down at him at the end of the corridor.

Mark.

“… No…” Ethan kicked himself away from him “… no… don’t… l-leave me alone!”

“You.” Mark took a step forward, then stumbled. As he regained his balance, Ethan saw his face.

He was covered in sweat.

He had a cut on his cheek.

He looked _terrified._

“You’re still… you… you… you’re not…” Mark was breathing very funnily “… it’s… not too late.”

Ethan stopped moving “What are you talking about?”

“I can’t explain… q-quick, come with me!” Mark ran towards him and, before Ethan could protest, yanked him to his feet “Now! Before He comes back!”

Ethan didn’t have time to think before Mark was pulling him down the corridor; the same way he pulled him to his car all that time ago.

“What… is happening?” Ethan was struggling to speak, they were running at such speed “Who is _he_? What is-”

“There’s no time!” panted Mark “If He comes back you can’t leave- _He-_ He controls this place. It’s impossible to leave… but th-this is your only chance!”

“… Anti?”

Mark took a second to stare at him “… No, you dumb fuckin-come on!”

They rounded a corner. There was the door. The huge, impassable metal door.

Mark reached forward and grabbed – a handle? But there was no handle before?

The door swung open. Ethan was hit in the face by a gust of cold winter air- so sudden it made his eyes water. The sky was cloudy and grey, but at least it was there! He saw grass, rolling hills, flowers, the car. His senses were flooded with a sense of normality as he realised he had managed to escape.

Outside.

Freedom.

“Go.”

Ethan couldn’t move “What?”

“GO!” Mark shouted “Just go! HHng-” he clutched at his chest “f-fuck.g-get… out… now! Go! J-just-  FUCKING RUN!!”

“Fuck…” Ethan stared outside “… um… bye.”

He ran out the door.

Didn’t stop.

Didn’t look back. Couldn’t look back.

He kept on running. Even when his heart felt like it was about to burst, and his legs threatened to snap under his weight, he kept going.

Ethan ran until the sun went down.

***

Ethan wanted to die.

He’d been running down this road for so long, but he hadn’t spotted a single car. He’d been forced to slow down to a walk, but still he didn’t stop. He couldn’t tell how far he’d gone but it must have been miles.

He wanted to curl up at the side of the road and sleep – hell, he’d sleep in the road if he could. Let the cars run over him.

No shoes. No phone. No wallet.

No idea where he was or where he was going.

All he knew was he had to get as far away from that cursed place as he could.

_Just keep going._

He screamed this over and over in his head.

One foot in front of the other. Keep going. Keep going.

His feet felt like they were on fire.

_Keep going._

His legs slipped out from under him.

_Keep going._

He fell to his knees.

_Keep going…_

Something was coming down the road behind him.

A car.

Slowing down.

Ethan waved his arms and the car swerved around him, coming to a gentle stop. Ethan held his breath when he heard the engine die.

What was he going to say? He’d never hitched a ride before. Would he recognise him from the news? No, that was months ago. Weeks? Days? Years? How long had it been?

Someone got out the car.

Ethan looked up.

**No.**

**Not him. Anyone but him.**

“No”

Mark looked furious.

“No, no, no!”

He advanced.

“No… please… no… no…”

The last thing Ethan saw were hands reaching towards him – before everything went black.

_To be continued..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment or a kudos if you want to hear more!!
> 
> To follow this story and many more, you can follow me on Tumblr and get them sweet updates. Darcylovette.tumblr.com
> 
> Tell your friends! It's got what plants crave!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Time is the one thing we have in abundance.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by Darcy Lovette
> 
> Edited by: The Editor

Chapter Ten

_Just a bad dream_

Ethan was lying in his bed. As he drifted gently out of sleep he felt the warm sun on his face; not bright enough to disturb him, but enough to pleasantly ease him awake, ready greet a brand new day. He must have left the curtains open that night – but he didn’t mind. This was nice. Peaceful.

He thought about the horrible dream he’d been having. He remembered being chased but unable to run away. A monster with shark-like teeth trying to drink his blood. An inescapable building with never-ending corridors. A bad man was trying to take him away and never let him go.

But it was all a dream.

He knew this because....well, that was all impossible.

_There’s no such thing as monsters._

Ethan let out a long yawn, lifting his hand to rub the sleep from his eyes.

But nothing happened.

Ethan tried to sit up, wondering what had happened to his hand.

He couldn't move an inch.

He opened his eyes – his bedroom wasn’t there. All he saw was a white ceiling with a single yellow bulb dangling down above him. He tried to look around but something was tied around his head, holding it down so tightly he couldn’t look at anything except the white ceiling.

He repeatedly tried to jerk his limbs - but no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t get them to budge. Something was holding them down too. He was starting to panic.

_Fuck_

“Hello?” Ethan called out before realising how ragged his throat was.

He couldn’t give up though.

“Anyone! Hello?!” he struggled and thrashed as hard as he could but nothing happened. Whatever he was strapped to creaked and groaned when he tried to move.

“Please!” Ethan screamed. The room began to blur – he realized he was crying “Someone help me!!” he was sobbing uncontrollably now, finding it harder and harder to speak “P-please! Please… I wanna go home!!”

But the laboratory was silent.

With a final groan Ethan collapsed. Tears fell down his cheeks in unrestrained rivulets; the feeling of helplessness grew as he couldn’t even wipe them away. He couldn’t breathe. Something about that bulb of light above his head was taunting him, mocking him, relishing in his misery. He shut his eyes as tightly as he could – he couldn’t stand to look at it a second more.

‘ _It’s all a dream…_ ’ he told himself, ‘ _just a dream… just a dream… just a dream… wake up… wake up… wake. the. **fuck. Up!**_ ’

“Oh, you’re awake. About time.” Someone he couldn’t see had walked into the room – a man with a deep, soothing voice which made his skin crawl.

Ethan felt the moment his heart sank.

“I didn’t know you were such a deep sleeper. Perhaps I could use that to our advantage.”

Ethan sniffed, trying and failing to stop his lip from quivering “… Let me go.”

“Oh, don’t worry.” He heard Mark laugh, “You won’t be here for very long… provided you behave, of course.”

“I want to go home”

Mark hissed sympathetically “I’m afraid that’s not an option, Ethan. It never was. Besides-” Ethan listened to him pace around the room slowly; almost mockingly “-the process has already begun. I must say I’ve been very impressed with your progress; it took a whole month to get Jack to this stage - you’ve barely been here two weeks.”

_Two weeks… was that all?_

“Unfortunately,” Mark was scribbling something down “Jack was far better behaved. _You’ve_ been a mouthy little brat since the beginning, haven’t you?”

Ethan didn’t answer.

“Nothing? Good, looks like we’ve turned a corner. Very nice. Very nice, indeed.” Ethan heard something metal clanging and rustling together “You know…” Mark gave a soft chuckle “it didn’t have to come to this. Not yet, anyway. You could have had at least six more months to walk around; eat when you like, sleep when you like, read books upside down when you like. But after your little… _indiscretion_ \- I can’t afford to have you wondering about, asking questions…”

Ethan felt something tug inside his chest.

“Did you really think I would leave Anti in here with nothing to supervise him? You really are foolish. When you didn’t come back after… what was it? _Going to get a bottle of water?”_ Ethan’s pupils shrank in horror “ I knew you wouldn’t get very far, so I checked the surveillance tapes. You’re quite curious, aren’t you? But don’t worry – he’s going to be punished as well.”

Mark turned to write something down – from what Ethan could hear he also was rummaging through another drawer “Hmm… I wonder...” it sounded like he’d found what he was looking for “perhaps it’s too soon for that. We don’t want to rush, do we? No…” Mark dropped the object back into the drawer “it’s not time. That’s okay-” he was walking back towards him, “-time is the one thing we have in abundance.”

Something heavy being was dragged along the ground, scraping horribly against the tiles. Mark had taken a seat on it “I’ve had to alter your training plan a bit.” He explained “But before we get to that I want to ask you a few questions, and trust me… it’s in your best interest to answer correctly. Understand?”

Ethan could only nod his head a tiny bit – it wasn’t like had had a choice.

“Good.” Mark made a note “How did Anti get his scar?”

“… You said he did it to himself.”

Mark tsked, “Wrong answer.”

It started at his fingers – within seconds it had spread through his arms. _A pain unlike anything he’d experienced before._ He couldn’t see his arms but it felt like they were being shredded into pieces, torn apart by a hundred tiny blades. It burned like fire. He couldn’t even scream.

No sooner had it started the pain was gone – as if it had never happened. But Ethan could feel his skin prickling, his fingers twitching, his muscles convulsing, all beyond his control. He could barely breathe, but he managed to croak “Wh-what… what… w-was that?”

“ _That_ is what will happen again if you don’t start being honest with me. I know when you’re lying to me Ethan. Don’t fret. The current isn’t strong enough to kill you – you’re no use to me dead. **But** if you don’t play along then you’re soon going to wish it was. Understood?”

“Y-yes.” Ethan spluttered without hesitation.

“Better.” He made another note “Now, I’ll ask you again. How did Anti get his scar?”

Ethan sniffed, trying to shake the feeling back into his fingers “… The _bad man_ did it.”

“I see.” Mark tapped his pencil against his leg, “Who is this bad man?”

“I’m not sure. R-really, I’m not!”

Mark laughed, “Oh, I believe you. Who do you think it might be?”

“I-I thought maybe… it was Anti. Like he was talking about himself… in third person?”

“Why?”

“He said the bad man gave him that scar. Y-you said Anti gave himself that scar. He said the bad man named him Anti… and…” something clicked inside his brain. If his arms were free he could have punched himself “… I’m so fucking stupid… it’s you. You’re the bad man.”

“Hm, I don’t know how I feel about being called that.”

“Y-you… gave Anti that scar!!” Ethan could feel himself trembling but made no attempt to stop it “You said you were going t-to help Jack… but you **didn’t!** _You_ put that thing inside him! _You_ slit open his throat so J-Jack couldn’t come back! Th-there never was anything wrong with him before, was there?!”

Mark wasn’t answering.

“And then… a-and then-”

“Then what?”

“ You’ve been doing the same thing t-to me… a-all this time”

“Go on?”

“I was… fine. There was nothing wrong with me. I-I wasn’t involved in those… _murders_ … was I?”

“Keep going.”

Ethan felt like his soul was splitting apart, “… You _were_ lying... you convinced me that I was dangerous – that there was something evil inside me th-that y-you could help me control! But you lied!” he screamed, lurching forward only for the straps to hold their grip around him, “You lied!! The only thing evil around here is **_you!_** ”

“Enough.”

The pain was back.

Stronger.

Sharper.

It spread to his chest.

Even down to his legs.

When it was gone Ethan hoped for one blissful second that he really had died.

“You’re too emotional. It makes me uncomfortable.” Mark’s voice was so cold and flat “It’s a good thing I _wasn’t_ teaching you control – that was just embarrassing.”

Ethan couldn’t breathe. All the air had been knocked out of him.

“Next question. How exactly did you escape?”

It took a moment, but the memories came flooding back. “… Wait… _you_ let me out! Y-you opened the door! You told me to run!! You… were scared, and-” Ethan sighed and closed his eyes “-you lied again. You tricked me. Y-You’re such a-” he daren’t say any of the words he was screaming in his head.

_Liar. Killer. **Monster.**_

“Hm.” Mark scribbled something down, furiously “I thought that might have happened. I guess I’m not as in _control_ as I thought”

In that moment it all came together.

“. . . you’re not Mark, are you?”

The creature laughed. Slowly. Deeply.

“ _I never was._ ”

 

_To be continued..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment or a kudos if you want to hear more!!
> 
> To follow this story and many more, you can follow me on Tumblr and get them sweet updates. Darcylovette.tumblr.com
> 
> Tell your friends! It's got what plants crave!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Your death would be … a great inconvenience to me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by Darcy Lovette
> 
> Edited by: The Editor

Chapter Eleven

 

_All this time._

Ethan couldn’t muster a response. He simply laid there, unable to move, the urge to vomit rising to his chest.

_All this time._

_I’d believed him._

_I’d trusted him._

He had so many questions, but every time he thought of one it was forgotten straight away. He felt like he should be screaming. He felt like cursing– calling that monster every disgusting word he knew, no matter how long it took. He felt like he should cry.

But nothing came.

_All this time._

_He’s been turning me into one of them._

_I let him._

_I fucking **helped** him._

Dark had fallen suspiciously quiet prior to this revelation. He’d stopped writing. He’d stopped doing anything. Ethan could feel his eyes watching him – those cold, cold eyes…

_This is my fault._

_My parents were right there._

_I could have warned them. We could have run away together._

It wasn’t Ethan who put his parents in danger. It wasn’t even the evil inside of him – that didn’t exist. But Ethan knew his family would have been killed had he not agreed to leave them behind… and where their bodies would have ended up.

_Why me?_

_What did I do to deserve this?_

_I should have kept running._

_I wasn’t fast enough._

_I wasn’t strong enough._

_I want to die._

_I just want to die._

“You’re taking this well.” Dark finally spoke in a tone that did nothing to help Ethan’s nausea “Or perhaps you’ve gone numb with shock. Either way, I don’t mind. The less you move the easier this will be.”

_I should have shot him when I had the chance._

 

That’s when he got the idea.

A impossible but kind of brilliant -desperate- beautiful idea had crept into Ethan’s mind. It filled his head and sent sparks of adrenaline through his entire body – but he daren’t let it show on his face.

**_The gun._ **

_‘I always make sure to have a gun. Because one day, I might be around people, and **he** will try to make an appearance. I might not be able to stop him. If I can aim that gun just right before he does…’_

_Where did I leave it?_

_The bedroom?_

_No, the lounge?_

_Shit… where was it?_

“Alright, you can say _something._ ” Dark sounded annoyed “Don’t do anything stupid, like dying. Your death would be … a great inconvenience to me.”

“Yeah…” Ethan muttered, only half-paying attention “death... I’m alive. I’m still here”

“… Great.” Dark sighed and dropped something onto the floor “We can’t work while you’re like this. I suppose... no, that’ll just make you pass out. I’ll put you in your room and monitor you for a while, see how you respond to a few different stimuluses.”

“A few what?” Ethan said, snapping awake.

Dark chuckled low before Ethan heard the sound of approaching footsteps.

“Don’t worry about it.”

_Was the gun in the bedroom or not? Think, Ethan, think!!_

Dark was pacing slowly towards him “I think you’ll like your new room. Since you and Anti are such **good friends…** I got you one _exactly like his_.”

_Oh god._

_Wrong room._

_Different room._

_No gun._

**_Where was the fucking gun?!_ **

Something close to panic was burning inside his chest. His heart was pounding – ready to burst. He tried not to think but one word - over and over - screamed inside his head so loud he could have sworn his ears were ringing.

**Gun.**

He started to struggle.

He thrashed backwards and forwards, not caring if Dark saw.

This was his only chance.

His only shot at freedom.

Real freedom.

Forever.

“Oh, we’re doing this again, are we?” Dark sounded a little taken aback “Maybe you’re not so useless after all.”

_Keep going…_

_The bonds._

_They can’t hold forever._

_Keep going._

_Keep going._

_Keep going._

The fire in his chest was burning hotter and hotter. It spread down his arms and legs, bubbling in his stomach and almost exploding from his fingers.

For the first time Ethan wasn’t afraid.

He wasn’t scared.

No. This was something new. A feeling he couldn’t explain or even describe. But it was powerful.

It set his whole being aflame.

“That’s enough now.”

_Keep going._

“You’re going to tire yourself out.”

_Keep going._

“Alright – looks like you need a little _persuasion._ ”

_Do it._

_Shock me._

_Fucking do it you evil piece of shit._

“I’ll give you to the count of three.”

_Do it._

“One.”

_Do it!_

“Two.”

**_Do it!!_ **

“Three.”

Ethan heard a clicking sound before the room vanished in an explosion of brilliant blue light.

 

Did he die?

Had Dark… killed him?

Was he finally free?

Ethan tried to open his eyes but the light was too blinding. It was everywhere. He could feel it in every inch of his body – something so bright and piercing that it engulfed all his senses. He was floating. He was drifting. He was surely dying.

 

Then it was gone.

 

With another violent blast – the room was back.

He let the air spill into his lungs; it tasted fresher than before. Icy cold, flooding life back into him.

It was at this point Ethan realized he was sitting up, hands clutching his head, feeling like it was about to rip in two.

He opened his eyes.

He recognised this place. From the fingernails on the walls, to the shelves overflowing with mysterious, torturous devices.

This was the room he’d met Jack in.

He’d been tied to the chair – just like Anti.

Dark must have-

… wait.

Ethan turned and saw Dark staring back at him. His back was against the wall, his face a painting of fury and… something unreadable. He didn’t look like himself anymore; his skin had an almost ashy quality, his black eyes tinted red. His hair a black as the void.

He looked like he couldn’t move.

And Ethan wasn’t going to give him the chance.

He leapt from the chair and bounded through the door, crashing into a wall. He turned to run but something glinted in the corner of his eye – a key.

Dark shouted something unintelligible.

He had mere seconds.

Ethan threw his body against the door, slamming it closed. Just as the handle began to turn, Ethan gripped the key in his fist and twisted…

He jumped back, his legs buckled for a moment.

The door was shaking.

But it held.

He’d bought himself some time.

There was no point trying to find the exit – while Dark still lived escape was relatively impossible. He couldn’t afford to hang onto the hope that Mark return.

There was only one option left.

“I’m sorry, Mark.” He whispered to the door as it shook and shuddered against its hinges.

Then he ran.

 

It wasn’t in the lounge.

It wasn’t in his bedroom.

It wasn’t even in the kitchen – unsurprisingly.

 

Ethan was starting to freak out again. He was checking every room he passed, scanning the ground for any sign of that tiny sliver of hope.

_Not here…_

_Not here…_

_Where the fuck is it?_

At this point any rational person would have given up – look for something else, like a knife or anything else that could be used as a weapon.

But Ethan didn’t get himself in this situation by being rational.

In this world – **his** world – nothing made sense.

 _Go left_ , whispered a voice in his head.

Ethan skidded to a halt.

“Not you again!” he groaned “just fuck off, okay?”

_I want to help._

“I’m not falling for that again...”

_I helped you escape, didn’t I?_

The brilliant blue light flooded Ethan’s memory.

“What _are_ you?”

_A friend._

_“_ Heard that before…” Ethan mumbled while every part of him was screaming not to put his trust in whatever ‘it’ was.

But he went left.

_Go right._

He went right.

_Right again._

He went right.

_Run. He’s coming._

Ethan ran.

“Why are you helping me?!” Ethan panted, “Wh-why do you want him t-to…”

_Just keep running._

_You’ll see._

_Trust me._

The voice led him further and further through the endless corridors. Doors whizzed past, lights flickered overhead, and Ethan continued to regret his lack of shoes. He’d abandoned his socks, but now there was nothing to protect his feet from the dirt and the puddles. Not to mention the tiny shards which pierced his soles and gave his pursuer a red trail to follow.

_Almost there._

_He’s coming._

_Don’t stop._

_Keep running._

**_Stop._ **

Ethan obeyed.

_Go inside._

Ethan swung open the door.

Inside the room were dozens upon dozens of… _things_. He saw mobile phones, rucksacks, hats, scarves, shoes, even watches. What was this? Where did all this come from?

‘ _I killed someone **three** **days ago.**_ ’

“Oh god, no…” Ethan’s hands clasped to his mouth “… no… why did you show me this?! This is… oh, god, I’m gonna be sick…”

_The green bag._

Ethan spotted it.

_Look inside._

_Quick._

_He’s almost here._

Ethan reached out and grabbed the bag, feeling a terrible coldness swell up inside him. He ripped it open and plunged his hand inside, feeling around… something plastic… something small… something cold and hard.

_That’s it._

Ethan pulled it out.

“Oh, damn…” This gun was bigger than the other one.

_It’s loaded._

_You have one shot._

_Use it well._

“Found you.”

Ethan span around. The gun gripped tightly in his fingers.

He pointed the gun right at Dark’s head.

“Stay back!” He screamed, “Stay the fuck back!!”

Dark looked down at the gun. Then back at Ethan.

“You wouldn’t.”

“Oh, I really fucking would!”

Dark took a step back, then another.

Ethan’s hands were shaking. It was getting harder to aim.

“You’re embarrassing yourself. Put the gun down, or I’ll make sure you regre-”

 

**_Bang_ **

 

White noise filled Ethan’s head as Dark’s body was thrown back against the wall. Still standing, he looked down – a circle of red began to blossom around the hole in his shirt.

Ethan had struck him right in the chest.

He’d actually done it.

Dark stared at the blood as it soaked through his shirt and dripped onto the floor.

But then he started to laugh.

He laughed as he looked back up at Ethan, who was now very pale.

“ **. . . Y o u  r e a l l y _a r e_  a n  i d i o t .** ”

Before Ethan could move an inch, Dark stepped towards him and punched him.

Hard.

As everything went black – Ethan swore he heard the voice in his head laughing as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment or a kudos if you want to hear more!!
> 
> To follow this story and many more, you can follow me on Tumblr and get them sweet updates. Darcylovette.tumblr.com
> 
> Tell your friends! It's got what plants crave!


End file.
